“On the Matter of Flowers (La question des fleurs)” / Photo by Bobby León
How does a dance film festival deal with a pandemic 11 months into the crisis’ unknown length of a run? It does everything it can do to share exciting movement-based short and long movies with a public eager to see something never seen before. So says Dance Camera West, the LA-based international dance-for-the-camera festival that’s been screening films in prestigious locations and unusual environments in LA County and beyond for the past twenty years. This year, the “hybrid” event (some live, some online) is a collaboration between DCW, The Broad Stage in Santa Monica and Theatre Raymond Kabbaz in West LA.
Drawing from 250 submissions from 35 countries, the festival runs throughout the month of January. This weekend, Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 7-9, 2021, at 8 p.m. each night, Theatre Raymond Kabbaz virtually hosts three individual screenings of 18 different short films created in locations across the globe (3-8 different dance films on each program). “International Dance Los Angeles: Beyond the Stage and onto Film” presents World Premieres, U.S. Premieres and Los Angeles premieres that, if COVID permits, will be augmented by exclusive interviews on the stage of TRK with filmmakers, producers, dancers, choreographers and festival directors.
Three weeks later, on Saturday, Jan. 30, and Sunday, Jan. 31, at 5:30 and 8 p.m., The Broad Stage welcomes viewers to its Santa Monica Community College East Bundy campus parking lot for “The Broad Stage Presents Dance Camera West DRIVE-IN, Best of the Festival.” These four screenings of two different festival prize-winning selections will put the icing on the cake of this locally presented yet globally sourced film festival.
—Benn Widdey Culture Spot LA
Trailer is here.
Locations: International Dance online via
https://www.theatreraymondkabbaz.com/upcoming-events-1
Drive In Dance @ Santa Monica College Bundy Campus – East Parking Lot
Tickets: $10/night or $25/all three nights of International Dance
https://trkdcwlaidf.eventive.org/welcome
$45/carload @ Drive In Dance
https://thebroadstage.org/performances/2020-21/dance/dancecamerawest
$80/all festival pass
Info: International Dance in Los Angeles Jan. 7-9 https://dancecamerawest.squarespace.com/events/2021/1/7/international-dance-los-angeles-beyond-the-stage-and-onto-film
The Broad Stage Presents Dance Camera West DRIVE-IN: Best of the Festival Jan. 30-31
https://www.dancecamerawest.org/2021-festival-schedule-jan-3031